I"m deeply confused by this book. It's written like a straightforward realistic fiction, but hte animals just keep talking and there are definitely spirits. Still, unlike typical fantasy in which I get used ot the world being presented, it just kept being written as realistic and so kept being confusing when the animals spoke. I'm giving it 3 stars because probably there are cultural components that I missed that would have made this a less confusing read, and also because the story is a good one.